Koi Bridge Make It Bridge Challenge.
by LoganNeville in Workshop > 3D Printing
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Koi Bridge Make It Bridge Challenge.
![IMG_2704.png](/proxy/?url=https://content.instructables.com/FWZ/ILSE/LI1PU0MR/FWZILSELI1PU0MR.png&filename=IMG_2704.png)
![IMG_2703.png](/proxy/?url=https://content.instructables.com/FSJ/Z54C/LI1PU0KO/FSJZ54CLI1PU0KO.png&filename=IMG_2703.png)
I am 13 years old and am participating in the Make it Bridge project. I am in 8th grade.
In my hometown there is an indoor garden with water under the bridge. There are many koi in the pond, and sometimes the occasional turtle, and I feel like they really connect to nature, where children can look at the Japanese fish and enjoy the garden. Sometimes they water the plants by turning on the mist, and it crates a mystic swirling fog effect on the whole garden. Above is a picture of the koi in the water, and the fog surrounding it.
Supplies
I used Tinkercad for the project, to design the bridge, and used Ultimaker Cura to slice, and a Creality Ender 3 to print.
Research
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I did some research about the size of a legal pedestrian bridge, and it was 36 inches minimum, and I used that to design the bridge later in the step.
Beginning the Bridge
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I scaled the setting to the maximum, which was 39.37 inches. This is a good size to have my bridge, as it is over 36 inches. I then took a cylinder and rotated it on the side, and stretched it out to 39.37 inches, the length of our bridge.
The Full Extent of the Bridge
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I then scaled the width for the bridge, which is 55.87, and a height of 8, but it is above ground, and I will change this later.
The Bridge Coming Together
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Now we have our main section of the bridge. In this step I moved the bridge so the green arrow said -4 5/8, which is level with the ground.
The Guard Rails
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On this, I made the first guard rail. The measurements are in the photo, and it is close to the length of the bridge made earlier.
The Second Guard Rail
![5D4C4323-E6FD-4634-AC58-E884276DBDD0.jpeg](/proxy/?url=https://content.instructables.com/F8M/22W8/LFCJVPFR/F8M22W8LFCJVPFR.jpg&filename=5D4C4323-E6FD-4634-AC58-E884276DBDD0.jpeg)
I copied and pasted the first guard rail, and aligned it with the first. It does not matter where it is, just that the guard rails have to be aligned with the bridge main, and that it has to be able to connected to the bridge.
Scale Down the Bridge
![6F8421B5-F6CD-4524-BC12-29350425EC53.png](/proxy/?url=https://content.instructables.com/FXJ/VFB4/LFCJVPW2/FXJVFB4LFCJVPW2.png&filename=6F8421B5-F6CD-4524-BC12-29350425EC53.png)
I noticed while doing some testing that the bridge was too large to fit in the square, so I made it smaller in this photo. The height on the guard rails is 8 3/4, and the length is 25.256. The width is 0.125. The cylinder is 25.425 long by 16.946 width by 4.875.
Add Holes to the Bridge to Make It Better Looking
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I added holes on the complete underside to make the bottom flat, then I added a cylinder onto the bridge to make it an arch, and the angle on the underside is so minimum, I do not think it would break apart. The size does not matter, as it just needs an arch, not all the way through, but still enough that there is one. The bottom rectangular prism is just to cut off the bottom in step 4
Pillars
![5FDAF96D-8BB4-4947-8341-D17D34E75893.png](/proxy/?url=https://content.instructables.com/FYI/47DD/LG0UD9SL/FYI47DDLG0UD9SL.png&filename=5FDAF96D-8BB4-4947-8341-D17D34E75893.png)
I think there should be pillars to support it, not just to look nice, but also for structural integrity, as it will cling to the guard rails and stay that way without it being knocked over.
2nd Pillar
![9AED414D-C128-49FD-A418-8A7BF468CF4F.png](/proxy/?url=https://content.instructables.com/FRI/HKUI/LG0UD9TG/FRIHKUILG0UD9TG.png&filename=9AED414D-C128-49FD-A418-8A7BF468CF4F.png)
I copied and pasted the first pillar and I spaced it out to make it on both sides. This step is pretty simple.
4 Pillars
![E926A7FB-8C0F-4738-BF4C-6DB3B7698197.png](/proxy/?url=https://content.instructables.com/FTD/DSCR/LG0UDA9K/FTDDSCRLG0UDA9K.png&filename=E926A7FB-8C0F-4738-BF4C-6DB3B7698197.png)
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I did the same thing as step 10, but I copy and pasted 2 pillars instead of one. I made this so it has more support and structure. I Noticed that 2 of them were misaligned so I fixed that.
Info Signs
![IMG_2653.png](/proxy/?url=https://content.instructables.com/FCZ/54C1/LH0KEGFU/FCZ54C1LH0KEGFU.png&filename=IMG_2653.png)
I wanted to add some interest to the bridge to add more engagement to the bridge and to make a bigger connection to nature, as was the goal of this bridge. It would have info about the animals here, more about the garden, and more. I added a rectangle and rotated it so that it was angled in the bridge,
Decorations
![IMG_2639.jpeg](/proxy/?url=https://content.instructables.com/FO2/2JIF/LH0KEGU0/FO22JIFLH0KEGU0.jpg&filename=IMG_2639.jpeg)
![IMG_2654.png](/proxy/?url=https://content.instructables.com/FTO/3ZFD/LH0KEH1H/FTO3ZFDLH0KEH1H.png&filename=IMG_2654.png)
As I mentioned earlier, there are turtles in the garden with the bridge, so I decided to add some to the 4 pillars, facing inwards. The thingiverse file is where I got the turtle from. You can scale down the turtle and add them to the pillars in the same way as we added them.
Scale Back Up
![IMG_2689.png](/proxy/?url=https://content.instructables.com/FHZ/GJTI/LHJ53IHR/FHZGJTILHJ53IHR.png&filename=IMG_2689.png)
You scale the bridge back up using the same scale as before, but I may have stretched it a little to fit.
Decorating the Outside.
![IMG_2702.png](/proxy/?url=https://content.instructables.com/FH3/8TL6/LI1PTZS9/FH38TL6LI1PTZS9.png&filename=IMG_2702.png)
I added a blue block to represent water and added the snow and mountains thing from Tinkercad and i flattened them to look like rocks. I also coloured the bridge grey like it was meant to be.
Final Steps
![IMG_2703.png](/proxy/?url=https://content.instructables.com/FWP/ZMUX/LI1PU0BP/FWPZMUXLI1PU0BP.png&filename=IMG_2703.png)
I added a little bit more rocks and added them on both sides. I think that this is the finished product.